1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing method, an output control method, an apparatus and a system therefor, allowing to provide and acquire information with a level satisfactory to the information providing side and the information receiving side and also with an appropriate layout.
2. Related Background Art
There have conventionally been conceived services for providing various information. For information providing, there are known various forms such as 1) internet web, 2) internet pushed news delivery service, 3) fax information take-out service, 4) information requesting coupon attached to newspaper or magazine, 5) free dialing inquiry, and 6) mailing reference requesting postcard, etc. These methods are associated with respective advantages and disadvantages, and there is being desired better service capable of providing a larger number of people with information.
On the other hand, there are increasing information providing services by character information or image information, with the spreading of mobile information terminals such as mobile telephones. However, the display ability of such mobile terminals is limited in size, color, resolution etc., and the services of the above-mentioned forms may be utilized for complementing such limited ability.
Nevertheless, the conventional information providing services mentioned above have respective limitations. For example, the services 1) and 2) are available only to the users of a personal computer or terminal, skilled in the internet environment. In addition, a cumbersome procedure is required for finding the URL (uniform resource locator) required to access to the desired information.
Also the service 3) is limited to the facsimile users, and is also limited by the printing ability (monochromatic, print preview etc.) of the facsimile apparatus owned by each user. Besides the output cost (telephone fee, paper fee etc.) has to be borne by the user.
The services 4) and 6) are available to unspecified plural users, but the information can be acquired several hours or several days after the service is requested. Also the information provider has to prepare physical processing system for providing the information, so that there is required an information providing cost.
In the service 5), there can only be obtained aural information through the telephone. Also if the information can be requested after aural conversation, the information itself can only be provided several hours or several days later. Besides the information provider has to prepare a physical processing system such as an automatic responding tape or a telephone operator.
In consideration of the foregoing, for realizing a better information providing service, there can be conceived a system of outputting specified information by a code system represented by symbols and numbers (hereinafter tentatively called P-code system). There is conceived demand that any person can obtain high quality output of detailed information in any place at any time.
However, the number of codes will become enormously large if all the information is to be given by the code entered by the user, and the increase in the number of digits of the code will increase the probability of erroneous input.
Also there exist various limitations even if the above-mentioned drawback is resolved. For example, the cost of information is a problem. As an example, color printout is still expensive. In the field of internet, there is conceived a service in which the information provider provides the information free of charge by inserting an advertisement from an advertisement provider, but the general user is still resistant to the acquisition of the information by printout since the printing process is costly in case of acquiring such information at a copy shop or a convenience store.
On the other hand, from the standpoint of the advertisement provider, the randomly distributed advertisement such as fold-in in the newspaper has a low hit rate (ratio of the number of actual customers per the number of delivered advertisements). Also from the standpoint of the user obtaining the printout, the randomly printed advertisement is often irrelevant to the interest of the user and merely an obstacle. There will result waste of print paper unless such limitations are resolved.
Besides, the information desired by the user has various sizes and various layouts. Consequently, the insertion of an advertisement may cause overflow of data from the limited space, thereby eventually causing the advertisement alone to be printed on an additional page. On the other hand, the data printout, if unconditionally reduced in size, may become illegible depending on the size of the original data. Thus, such service may eventually lack attractiveness to the user and the advertisement provider.
Even if the user is allowed to arbitrarily select whether or not to output the advertisement, it will be time-taking and cumbersome to confirm and determine whether or not to print the advertisements one by one. Particularly in case the user executes the printing operation on the operation panel of a terminal for example in a convenience store, the panel operation may take a long time whereby the terminal may be intolerably occupied by a user. Also the store attendant may have to respond to the inquiry of the user, for example on the operations on the panel, and these factors may hinder efficient information providing.
Further, in case the advertisement provider has an agreement with a fixed number of advertisement for a fixed fee, expecting the output in excess of such number, the number of actually printed advertisements may become short of the anticipated number or the corresponding fee, against such expectation. Such situation is unsatisfactory to the advertisement provider.
Furthermore, in case the information and the advertisement are to be printed at the same time, it is difficult to spare a large area for the advertisement if they are to be printed on the same side of the sheet. Also the printing of plural information and advertisement on the same side requires a complex automatic layout process.
Also there is conceived a case of registering desired information in advance and outputting such information afterwards, but, in case of registering the information on a network or the like, the user wishes to execute the previewing operation as soon as possible at the selection of the file to be registered, in order to confirm the content of the selected file. However the exact preview is possible only after the registration of all the information.
Also, in a system in which the information is extracted by a code, the code is renewed and recycled as soon as the effective term of the information expires. However, the user may not notice such expiration of the effective term of the information and may try access to the information, using the same code. In such case, if the code is recycled and assigned to another information, there may result an unpleasant situation for the user and the advertisement provider, such as the output of the information of a contender. Also for the advertisement provider, the advertisement delivered regardless of the kind of information provides a low hit rate and is inefficient.
Also with the spreading of the internet and the mobile terminals, it is rendered possible to read the mails on such mobile terminal or to make access to the information on the internet from such mobile terminal, but it is still difficult to read all such information on the mobile terminal. There are encountered certain drawbacks such as interruption of a long mail or inability of access to image information in case of information involving an image. However it is difficult to always carry the personal computer for the purpose of access to such information. Consequently there still exists demand that anybody can obtained detailed information at any time in a location available to anybody.
The output has to be provided as inexpensively as possible at a level satisfactory to the user, but it is difficult to derive a variable print fee based on the number of prints, price of the printed chargeable information and fee of advertisement to be deducted therefrom.
On the other hand, the newspaper contains many information, but most of such information is often not required by the user. The individual user may wish certain information everyday, but the search from the personal computer is cumbersome and time-taking. There is already available a service providing certain information as a pack, but the user cannot arbitrarily select the combination of the information provided in such service.
Conventionally, the information providing is executed by certain internet providers, and the general users can only extract the information from the terminal therefor. Also the owner of personal computer can execute information transmission by opening a home page, but the description of such home page is not necessarily easy for all the users.
Furthermore, the advertisement of a food or a restaurant may not be adequate for example in an article reporting a poisoning from eating. Searching character trains in the information and providing an advertisement matching such information may have an adverse effect depending on the content of the information, but there is no effective means for preventing such situation.
Therefore, there has been desired a service capable of solving the above-described drawbacks singly or in combination.